Geiger



Oct. 25, 1955 E. GEIGER 2,721,548

FLUE DRIP PANS Filed June 16, 1952 IN VEN TOR. 2 ETHELBERT 6565/? 9 i Afys.

United States Patent FLUE DRIP PANS Ethelbert Geiger, Rossmoyne, Ohio Application June.16, 1952,, Serial No. 293,854

3 Claims- (01. 126-280 This inv ntion relates to a flue rip PM An object; of this inven ion i to provide means for: catch ng an storing ooty wa er i charged from flue openings, particularly flue clean-out holes.

Ano her:- obiect is to pr vide means as above described. whichmay-be easily installed; fool-proof in operation, and, easily" maintained. und r he condi ions ofv opera i n-.-

Another object; is to provide means as above described and. which are lso easity produced at low cost.

The above and other objects. and features of this inve z tipn, Willi inpart be obvious and will; in part be apparent from the: following detaile escrip ion and. the drawin in which:

Fig. 1 is a View in perspective of a flue drip panembodying a form of the-invention.

Fig. 2 is. a view in front elevation of the flue, drip. pan installed in operative relation to a flue clean-out hole; and

Fig. 3 is a view in section taken on line IIII'II of Fig. 2..

Throughout the drawing and the detailed description, like reference characters indicate like parts.

Aflue 1 constructed in accordance with widely followed practice, is shown most clearly in Fig; 3. Flue I is disposed in concrete wall' 2, such as a foundation or basement wall, or a utility room wall. When concrete wall 2 is poured, a refractory flue lining tile 3, resistant to deterioration through the action of heat and chemical substances contained in combustion products, is included therein to provide a lining for flue 1. A clean-out hole 4 extends from the interior of the building to the interior of flue 1, giving lateral access to the bottom portion of flue 1. As is customary, the bottom portion of flue 1 serves essentially as a gravity trap or receptacle for soot and other foreign matter introduced into the flue, and which receptacle permits such matter to drop out of that portion of the flue 1 through which combustion products and the like pass. To substantially close the opening or clean-out hole 4 a metal thimble 5 of galvanized sheet iron or the like, is secured therein and a cap 6 adapted to be snugly received in thimble 5 is provided. The closure accomplished by means of cap 6 and thimble 5 satisfactorily retains dried particulated substances such as soot, sand, coal dust, and the like. However, it is not a satisfactory closure for the retention of liquids which might be introduced into flue 1, as is not infrequently the case. Liquids, particularly water, may accumulate in substantial amounts in flue 1 in various ways, the more common manner of accumulation being rain water falling directly into the top opening of flue 1 or draining into flue 1 from adjacent areas and/or condensation.

As combustion products ascend through the upper portion (not shown) of flue 1, soot particles containing substantial amounts of various hygroscopic substances are deposited on the face of the flue lining 3 and water vapor condenses from air passing through flue 1 upon these hygroscopic particles in suflicient amount, at times, to run down and collect at the bottom of the flue 1.

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Any water which may reach the bottom of the. flue may leak past cap 6', carrying with it dissolved orsus pended soot or other material which attacks and rapidly disintegrates cap 6 and thimble 5. Eventually the soot laden water may escape through the crevice between thimble 5 and cap 6 or between thimble S'and wall 2' and run down the face of wall 2.

I provide. a flue drip pan 7 comprising a collector 8- provided with brackets 9- and reservoir 10 to collect and temporarily store such soot-laden water adjacent hole. 4. Collector 8 is preferably of trough shape and has a drain aperture 11 disposed centrally between the lateral; edges of collector 8 and in close spaced relation to endv 22.. thereof. A depending tubular spout 19 is unitarily joined to collector 8 in registry with aperture 11. I provide an upstanding transverse lip 21 on collector 8 substantially closing end 22 thereof adjacent drain 11. One end 2-3 of collector 8 is open and is adapted to be receiv'edin wall 2. Open end 23. is preferably wider than the width ordiameter of hole 4, as shown in Fig. 2 to collect waters, which, due to some obstruction such as unevenness of the face of wall 2 do not flow vertically downward from hole 4-. Waters collected by collector 8 are discharged through:

spout 19 into a reservoir 10. Reservoir 10. is supported in ctr-operative relation to spout 19 by means. such. as hook links 23' received in; notches 23" provided in the lateral edges of collector 8.,

The, brackets 9 are used for securing collector 8. to. wall 2 below hole 4). Each of brackets 9 has a stem 24:. A fluke or spur 25, extends angularly from one end of stem 24. Adjacent the other end of stem 24, an aperture 2 6 is; provided, An Lrshaped depth-stop having two lugs, one a stem 24' and the other a. depth-stopbrace 2'7, spaced, between fluke 25 and aperture 26, and projecting away from stem 24 substantially parallel to fluke 25. Asshownthe. drawing, brace 27 and fluke. 25 extend in opposite directions from, stem 24. Apertures. 28. are provided in collector 8 spaced from end 23- by a distance at least, as great as that. between aperture-26 and flukev 25 so that fluke 25 may project past end 23 as shown in Fig. 1 when apertures 26 and 28 are in registry. Fastening means, such as screws 29, extend through registering apertures 26 and 28 and engage nuts 30, securing collector 8 to brackets 9 and providing a water-tight closure for apertures 28.

The initial installation of collector 8 and attached brackets 9 in wall 2 in operative association with cleanout hole 4 may be accomplished as follows. A hole or cavity is cut in wall 2, below hole 4. End 23 of collector 8 with brackets 9 attached is partially inserted into the cavity below hole 4, until depth-stop braces 27 are in face to face abutment with the vertical face of wall 2 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. When stop-braces 27 are in face to face abutment with the face of wall 2 collector 8 is properly inclined. The hole or cavity is then filled with mortar or concrete which is packed tightly about the portions of 8 and 9 therein.

Soot-laden waters discharged from hole 4 will flow downward over wall 2 into collector 8 from which they are discharged through spout 19 into reservoir 10. From time to time reservoir 10 may be detached from collector 8, emptied, and replaced in operative relation to spout 19.

Reservoir 10, one of the parts of my flue drip pan which is exposed to the soot-laden water, may be detached in the same manner to facilitate cleaning or painting thereof or to permit substitution of a new reservoir 10 when its predecessor has deteriorated due to the attack by the soot-laden water.

Collector 8, the other part of my flue drip pan which is exposed to the soot-laden water, may be easily removed for cleaning, painting, or replacement as necessary, when screws 29 have been removed. This is possible because cement or mortar usually shrinks away from collector 8 a suflicient amount to permit removal and replacement of the collector 8 without disturbing brackets 9 or wall 2.

In the foregoing detailed description and the drawing a flue drip pan embodying my invention has been described and illustrated. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or changes may be made without departing either from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Therefore, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A flue drip pan which comprises a trough member, a pair of L-shaped anchoring brackets having one leg attached to said trough member adjacent an end thereof and having the other leg extending beyond said end for embedding in a wall below a flue clean-out hole therein, a substantially L-shaped depth-stop attached to each anchoring bracket, the first mentioned leg of each anchoring bracket being in flatwise engagement with one leg of each depth-stop and with the trough, and the other leg of each depth-stop projecting downwardly from the trough for flatwise abutment with the wall, said other leg of each depth stop being inwardly spaced from said end of said trough to limit the distance the said end is advanceable into the wall below the flue clean-out hole,

a drain in the bottom of said trough spaced from said end a greater distance than said depth-stop brace lug, and means operatively associated with said drain for receiving flue drip water from said drain.

2. A flue drip pan for gathering and storing sooty water discharged upon the face of a wall through a chimney clean-out hole therein, said flue drip pan comprising in combination a collector adapted to extend upwardly into said wall and in spaced relation below said clean-out hole, securing means, anchoring means detachably secured to said collector by said securing means and adapted to be securely embedded in said wall for anchoring said collector in operative position, said anchoring means comprising a stem lying in substantially flatwise abutment with the under side of said collector, an anchoring fluke being provided adjacent one end of said stem and extending beyond one end of the collector at an angle thereto, an aperture being provided adjacent the other end of said stern and cooperating with the securing means for attaching said collector thereto, a depth-stop brace extending from said stem oppositely and substantially parallel to said fluke between said fluke and said aperture, said depth-stop brace and the apertured portion of said stem including an acute angle, whereby said anchoring means may be used to determine the proper inclination of said collector to a vertical wall face, and a storage reservoir supported by said collector in operative relationship therewith for receiving and storing sooty water discharged from said collector.

3. The combination of a wall having a chimney flue therein and a clean-out hole extending from a face of said wall into communication with said flue adjacent the lower end thereof, an inclined collector extending upwardly into said wall beneath said clean-out hole and spaced therefrom for collecting sooty water discharged from said clean-out hole, said collector being provided with an aperture exteriorly of said wall collector anchoring means comprising an L-shaped bracket having an anchoring end embedded in said wall and extending substantially parallel to the face thereof and a stem joined to said anchoring end, a portion of said stern projecting from the surface of said wall, the projecting portion of said stem being provided with an aperture adapted to register with the aperture in said collector, securing means co-operating with said apertures for detachably securing said collector to said stem, a storage reservoir, and means on said reservoir detachably engaging said collector for supporting said reservoir in operative relationship therebeneath for receiving sooty water discharged therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 599,633 Ring Feb. 22, 1898 775,500 Prangemeier Nov. 22, 1904 833,609 Lewis Oct. 16,1906 857,847 Stollberg June 26, 1907 907,778 Gilmer Dec. 29, 1908 2,141,812 Fales Dec. 27, 1938 2,374,489 Lalande Apr. 24, 1945 2,438,411 Meiller et a1. Mar. 23, 1948 

